March 2011
1 post
On the teaching of programming
Thanks to my friend Peter Boothe, I found a blog post urging me (and anyone who read it) to make a pledge that they wouldn’t teach Java at the college freshman level or earlier.
Intrigued as to why java was singled out (but not say, C++), I continued reading. The author makes a great point:
Here’s a common error — it’s a faulty method declaration.
public void foo();
{
//...
November 2009
18 posts
Defective Yeti: Haircut →
This pretty much exactly sums up the feelings I have when I enter a barbershop. I’m male, you’re the expert, you decide!
“Canadian history can be best summed up as ‘Quebec said no.’”
– SuperNintendoChalmer
My New Favorite Song
We’ve recently begun singing a new song at church that I absolutely adore:
Micah 7
What misery is mine?
The fruit that I desire
Does not remain.
The upright man is gone
And those that love your name
Cannot be found.
But I will wait for God
And His forgiveness will
Hear my cry.
Chorus:
Who is like God,
Who pardons sin?
Who is like God
Who won’t forget
The oath of grace...
Possibly my favorite Death Cab for Cutie song...
“Common sense would tell me it would be easier to grind up rocks into sand with...”
– Violent Acres
Things I Need (Part 1)
I’m going to start a mini-series on this blog of the things that I think I, as a programmer/system administrator need. I have not been able to find anything similar in a quick google search, so I’m crowdsourcing. Who knows, I may even add it to my list of projects.
Anyway, the thing I really need is a http server that is fast enough/secure enough/robust enough to compete with apache,...
My Rails Journey, Part 1
Just installed Rails, using the always excellent resource at Hivelogic. One thing I noticed right off the bat — gems take forever to install, especially at the point where it’s installing the documentation. Such a change from the days of easy_install in the python world :(
One Project to Rule Them All
I need to move from Facebook Events to something custom, for several reasons: I turn out to have friends that won’t use facebook, I have repeating events, I want to be able to integrate my data more easily than writing a facebook app, and I want to learn something new.
Towards that vein, I’m going to try coding this site in Rails, to see what happens. I already know that I’ll...
WatchBoy, this brings back memories! Hat tip: Peter Boothe
Fascinating →
Check out the comments as well!
I’m sure that Britt would say this was a...
Huh
Just took a look at my Google Analytics dashboard for the first time in a long time, and when I look at the data from the traffic generated by my recent flurry of posts, the most interesting thing to me is that my top referrer by far is facebook. At first I thought this was probably due to the Networked Blogs app I use inserting my posts into my facebook news feed, but then I realized that, no, I...
Cold War Kids ‘We Used to Vacation’,...
Life Update
As a lot of you already know, I’ve been working for ShowClix, a startup operating out of Oakmont, PA which does online ticketing (main competitor: ticketmaster). It’s been hilariously fun, and I’m getting to do those things I actually enjoy. In fact, I look forward to going to work every day in the same way I used to look forward to attending college. I’ve updated my header...
Current Projects
(In no particular order)
A website where you can enter lead sheets in some format (it’s becoming a abc+ hybrid), storing them in a database accessible to the general public, who can browse the music and mark particular pieces as ones they know. They can also define groups (i.e. their band, etc.), and see those pieces that everyone knows, create setlists, etc. Current Roadblock: I’m...
October 2009
1 post
MySQL dumb error of the day!
If, when connecting to a MySQL server, you get the error “Lost connection to MySQL server at ‘reading initial communication packet’, system error: 61”, check your port number — it’s possible that your MySQL port is non-standard, especially if you’re running MAMP.
September 2009
1 post
Has There Been Progress on the P vs. NP Question?... →
Excellent slide deck on the current state-of-the-art in the P vs. NP question — pretty clear, at least to a CS undergrad, which is refreshing for a change :)
August 2009
2 posts
Recorded and produced by Elisabeth Starr, my...
Problems with postfix
This is something I’d normally post on twitter, but postfix configs don’t fit in 140 characters.
I’ve just installed postfix on Ubuntu 8.04, and run through the autoconfigurator. I also set up saslauthd, and ssl using the official walkthrough.
The output of postfix -n is:
vps# postconf -n
alias_database = hash:/etc/aliases
alias_maps = hash:/etc/aliases
append_dot_mydomain =...
July 2009
1 post
Dune (SPOILER)
WARNING: SPOILER ALERT
This post contains a spoiler for the novel Dune by Frank Herbert YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
I’ve recently finished re-reading Dune for the umpteenth time, and I was reminded again of the subtle joke included at the top of every chapter. Located there are excerpts from books written by Princess Irulan. As you continue reading Dune, it becomes clear that this princess...
May 2009
6 posts
Engaged!
So, most of you know by now, but for those that didn’t hear:
I got engaged!
I flew to Eugene for Memorial Day weekend in order to propose to Elisabeth. Quite the exciting time, especially as I was able to keep it a secret that I was flying in from her. You can read all about it on her blog, just wanted to mention this on my blog to fill some sadly vacant space.
Exceptions to Prohibitions on Furnishing of... →
Interesting — I always assumed that you could furnish alcohol to your children in a private setting in any state. Apparently, I was wrong :(
Learning the Tune →
Excellent post on Christians and Homosexuality from Doug Wilson.
E.C. With Tommy and Mommy →
The mother of my ‘girlfriend’ has started a blog of her own. Interesting read.
“…instead of arguing continually over this point it is usual to have the...”
– Alan Turing on the Other Minds Problem
April 2009
6 posts
Quick Note
I’ve just finished a bit of mucking around with my servers, and have changed my blog’s URL. All posts, etc can be found within the next 72 hours at http://blog.silassnider.com
That is all.
The Truth About Frivolous Tax Arguments →
This is an excellent resource for people that are surrounded by individuals from the tax protestor movement.
Tipsy
Was tipsy for the first time in my life today — hated every minute of it. That is all.
Probably my favorite song from Jesus Christ...
Dollhouse
I know that some have heavily criticized me for liking the show Dollhouse, but you owe it to yourself to watch it, given the latest episode. Joss’s talent for designing intriguing worlds is definitely showcased
The best song (IMHO) from The Decemberist’s...
March 2009
3 posts
Vote True Blue: An ASUO Political 'Party' →
Some people I know from the computer science department, and some I’ve heard of through my student government contacts are finally running for office in the University of Oregon Student Government! Finally, a ‘coalition’ I would vote for (if I was still a student, of course).
Amicus Curiae in the matter of DeSocio v. Driscoll
Petitioner’s brief can be found here. Respondent’s brief can be found in two parts, here and here
This all came about, as far as can be determined because of an article in Time. Unfortunately, as has become habit with mainstream news sources, they got the whole religious thing broadly correct, but in detail incorrect. It does seem true that churches espousing reformed Christianity...
The Crisis of Credit, Visualized →
January 2009
1 post
Sewing
So, I’ve come to the realization that I need a sewing machine soon. Unfortunately, unlike most other kinds of machines, I have no idea what I should be looking for. Basically, I want one to do large-scale mending and I also want to get into sewing my own clothes.
Suggestions? Comments?
December 2008
3 posts
Lockhart's Lament (warning: PDF) →
Excellent description of what goes wrong in the teaching of mathematics in modern schools.
Announcing Catalog!
Last Saturday night, I was talking to Mike, a (pgh) friend of mine, and he mentioned the arduous process he goes through in order to catalog his DVDs and keep track of who he’s lent them to.
Announcing Catalog!, a Google AppEngine based product that expedites this process. Right now, you can add DVDs by UPC lookup (thanks to Amazon.com), and lend and return DVDs by UPC.
Setting up an...
“Death is a Dialogue between
The Spirit and the Dust.
“Dissolve”...”
– Emily Dickinson
November 2008
6 posts
New Perspective
I decided that it had been quite long enough since I last touched anything Java, so I’m experimenting with using it for a web project I’m doing. Surprisingly (to me) they’ve fixed all the problems I used to have with Java.
For example, I was an Eclipse Early-Adopter, so using the newest build (Ganymede) was eye-opening. The plugin installer is now much more intelligent and...
“Oh. So it’s one of those companies with cryptic ads that are all “At...”
– Television Without Pity on Fringe’s Pilot Episode
The Open Source Wish Project →
Atwood sticks his foot in his mouth and holds it... →
Truly horrendous post on complexity theory from someone who clearly read the wikipedia article for the first time mere seconds before expounding on the subject. See also Jeff’s response to comments for more cringe-worthy insights.
In Which I Come Clean
So, as some of you know, I have ceased to be a part of Sonya Labs for various personal reasons. What it turns out few of you know is that I have joined AmeriCorps, specifically KEYS, and am now working at an ‘inner city’ High School in Pittsburgh as a robotics tutor.
I’m thouroughly enjoying this post — I love the kids, they seem to like (or at least are helped) by me, and...
http://www.partiallyclips.com/index.php?id=1580&c=1... →
October 2008
5 posts
“I have a friend who was hired by a Presbyterian church and one of the...”
– Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam